Marco Rubio on Free Trade

Instead of trade war against Mexico, bring jobs home

TRUMP: We have a trade deficit with Mexico of $58 billion a year. We're going to make them pay for that wall. The wall is $10 billion to $12 billion.
I don't mind trade wars when we're losing $58 billion a year. Mexico is taking our businesses. They de-value their currencies to such an extent that our businesses cannot compete with them, our workers lose their jobs.
You wouldn't know anything about it because you're a lousy businessman.

RUBIO: About the trade war -- I don't understand, because your ties and the clothes are made in Mexico and in China.
You're going to start a trade war against your own ties and suits. Why don't you make them in America?

Tariffs on China won't work; improve our economy instead

Q: Mr. Trump, you said you would impose "up to 45% tariff on Chinese goods."

TRUMP: That's wrong. The 45% would be the amount they saw their devaluations that we should get. If they don't start treating us fairly and stop devaluing and let their
currency rise so that our companies can compete, I would certainly start taxing goods that come in from China.

Q: So you're open to a tariff?

TRUMP: I'm totally open to a tariff. Hey, their whole trade is tariffed. You can't deal in China without
tariffs. They do it to us, we don't it. It's not fair trade.

RUBIO: We are all frustrated with what China is doing. I think we need to be very careful with tariffs, and here's why. China doesn't pay the tariff, the buyer pays the tariff: it gets passed
on in the price to the consumer. So I think the better approach, the best thing we can do to protect ourselves against China economically is to make our economy stronger. It begins with tax reform. It continues with regulatory reform.

Support fast-tracking TPP; but undecided on TPP itself

Sen. Marco Rubio--who declared the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be one of three essential "pillars" of a Rubio Presidency--once wrote: "We must rebuild our own military capabilities, conclude and pass
TPP, and renew our support for freedom and the rule of law in Asia." Moreover, Rubio cast a vote for the final passage of the Trade Promotion Authority--also known as fast-track--all but guaranteeing formation of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, as no deal placed on a fast-track has ever been blocked.
But Rubio's spokesman said that "although he backed fast-track trade authority this summer, he has not decided whether to support TPP legislation."

Pillar of my strategy: trans-Pacific & trans-Atlantic trade

In an address to the Council on Foreign Relations in May 2015, Rubio described TPP as one pillar of his three-pillar foreign policy strategy: "My second pillar," Rubio declared, "is the protection of the American economy in a globalized world.
It is more important than ever that Congress give the president trade promotion authority so that he can finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership."

Breitbart News reached out to Rubio's office and
asked if the Senator continues to stand by his April and May comments in which he expressed his support for TPP. Breitbart News asked if Sen. Rubio was "prepared to reverse his longstanding support of TPP and oppose the deal." In response,
Rubio's spokesman directed Breitbart News to an interview with CNBC, in which Rubio expressed his "very positive" feelings about ObamaTrade in the days after Obama reached the agreement.

Develop policies that embrace reality of globalization

Whether we like it or not, globalization is real and it is here to stay. Our challenge now is to position ourselves to take advantage of the opportunities it presents us, not simply suffer from the disruptions it creates.
We are in competition with other nations for the investment, innovation, and talent that will create good, well-paying jobs.

Source: American Dreams, by Marco Rubio, p. 24
, Jan 13, 2015

Trade with Cuba won't translate into political freedom

Pres. Obama's surprising move toward normalizing relations with Cuba immediately came under challenge. Many leading Republicans denounced the president as feckless, overreaching and naive in his negotiations with the government of Pres. Raul Castro, the
brother of longtime leader Fidel Castro.

"This entire policy shift announced today is based on an illusion, on a lie, the lie and the illusion that more commerce and access to money and goods will translate to political freedom for the Cuban people,"
said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), whose parents emigrated from Cuba in the 1950s. "All this is going to do is give the Castro regime, which controls every aspect of Cuban life, the opportunity to manipulate these changes to perpetuate itself in power."

The bulk of the criticism suggested that the conservative base remains firmly committed to keeping Cuban relations in the deep freeze where they have been for half a century. That position is increasingly at odds with the view of the electorate at large.

Continue reducing barriers to free and fair trade

We must continue reducing barriers to free and fair trade. We should adopt the free trade agreements that have already been negotiated with Colombia, Panama,
South Korea and other nations around the world. We should also insist that other countries reduce their own barriers to trade so that American goods can find new markets.

Ratings by USA*Engage indicate support for trade engagement or trade sanctions. The organization's self-description: "USA*Engage is concerned about the proliferation of unilateral foreign policy sanctions at the federal, state and local level. Despite the fact that broad trade-based unilateral sanctions rarely achieve our foreign policy goals, they continue to have political appeal. Unilateral sanctions give the impression that the United States is 'doing something,' while American workers, farmers and businesses absorb the costs."

USA*Engage at Work

Developing the Case: USA*Engage explains the benefits of economic engagement, and the high cost of sanctions for American exports, investment and jobs.

Education: We recruit respected foreign policy and economic experts to speak out against sanctions, actively engage the media and provide outreach to key target states and Congressional districts.

Contacting Government Officials: USA*Engage directly contacts Congressional, Administration, state and local officials.